Basta's Toy
by Jellyhair
Summary: Basta kidnaps Farid in the night, and Dustfinger has to save him before it's too late. UNDER HAITUS
1. Capture In The Night

Farid couldn't sleep. He stared at the blanket of stars, stretched above him. He sighed and turned on his side. He heard the ghosts whispers in the clearing. There was no point telling Dustfinger he couldn't sleep. He would probably just mumble "There aren't any ghosts in this world" and fall asleep and forget about it in the morning. Farid wrapped his blankets around him more tightly,shivering. His lack of sleep didn't help as it was November.

He wasn't used to it being so cold here. There were only two seasons were he came from:The rain and dry season. This world was so different. Farid looked enviously at rising and falling heap that was Dustfinger. How could he always sleep so peacefully as soon as his head touched the ground!? It never seemed fair to Farid that he would usually get to sleep at the crack of dawn.

There was some rustling from the bush. He sat up and stared at it. After a few minutes, nothing happened. He sighed, and lied down on the grass again. Sudenly a hand out of no were, covered his mouth. Farid let out a muffled, panicked scream, trying to pull the hand off his mouth.

"If you don't pipe down soon, I'll redecorate your face with my knife"A smooth, mocking voice whispered.

It was too dark to see his face, but Basta's terrible, minty breath was unforgettable.

"Basta!"He said, in a muffled voice.

Grinning an evil grin, he drew out a long silver knife.

"Long time, no see my little Arab. Missed me?"

Farid shook his head violently.

Laughing quietly, he forced Farid on to his feet. He took his chance, and bit Bastas hand. "Dustfinger! Wake up! It's Basta, he's -"

But the man had covered his mouth again, and quickly drew him into the shadows of the trees.

"You'll pay for that little trick, my Arab"He said, in a soft, deadly voice.

Basta pulled of bandanna and forced the bandanna into his mouth and tied it around his head.

"Maybe that'll shut you up"

Farid tried to untie it, but he grabbed his wrists. He tried to push Farid forward, but he struggled against the tall man;fighting desperately to get back to Dustfinger.Basta merely picked him up, and slung him over his shoulder, as if he were a mere sack.Farid screamed through his bandanna, though it quiet and muffled, and couldn't reach Dustfinger. He fought as fiercely as he could ,though in vain, as his last hope of escaping was getting further and further away.

OoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoO

Dustfinger woke up with a jolt, sweating. He could have sworn he had heard Farid's voice. He got up quietly, and walked towards were he usualy slept.

He wasn't there.

Dustfingers eyes widened. "Farid?"He yelled. "Farid!? Were are you?" But of course, there was no reply.


	2. The Trap Of Doubt

Farid stirred slowly. A groan escaped his lips, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around him. He was surronding by castle ruins. _How did I get here? _He asked himself, but of course there was no answer.

He tried to get up, but his hands were tied. His legs were tethered to a large rock.

"Dustfinger? Dustfinger!?"He called out desperately, but there was no reply. "Dustfinger!?"

There was a tutting sound behind him. "Missing your fire eater all ready?" Farid jumped, and looked up. Basta stood over him, chewing on one of his mint leaves. The horrible memory of last night flooded back to him.

He spat out the remains of his mint. Farid gave him a dirty and said. "You are truly disgusting!"

The tall man laughed. "I shouldn't have taken out that bandana of yours"

He walked around him, as if he were examaning a horse to buy. Farids eyes never left him.

"So what do you intend to do with me?"

"Come now Farid, you wouldn't want me to ruin the suprise"He sneered at him.

"Then tell me why I'm here then!"

"Guess"

Farid glared at Basta. He wouldn't play his game. He crouched down infront of him and stroked his cheek. The boy couldn't help shuddering and shying away.

He laughed.

"You are my toy"

"I'm you're what!?"

"My toy, little arab"

Farid tried to recoil from him, but only met stone.

"What fun I'm going to have with you!"

He rose and began to walk into the trees.

"Oh and another thing, don't try and call for your precious Dustfinger, because he won't come"

"He will come!"Farid called after him, angrily. "Just wait and see!"

But if only he knew that for sure.

Farid had fallen asleep after a while. He had tried to bite his way through the rope that bound his legs, but it was far too thick. Basta didn't return at all that day, though he knew he was watching him.

There would be no were else for him to go, and there would be no point either. He had nothing to eat, so tried to eat the grass. It didn't go aswell as he had planned. Farid wondered how horses could eat it so easily, whilest trying to pull some with his teeth.

After managing to get a bit of nourishment from the grass, he couldn't remember anything else. Farid felt some one haul him to his feet, though he was barely conscious.

"Ummmmm?"

The person shook him. He opened his eyes and saw Basta's face. He let out a yell of shock. Basta smirked. He grabbed Farids shirt, and ripped it off, making him gasp. He immediately began shiver as the coldness of evening pressed upon his naked arms and chest. The man dragged Farid to a long rock, were he put his arms around it.

This was all too familiar.

Farid turned his head around and to his horror he saw in Basta's hand none other, than a whip.

"Oh god, not again"He groaned quietly, resting his head agaisnt the rock.

The thieves used to do this to him, along with many other things he'd long to forget. When he found Dustfinger, he thought this would never happen again. He thought he'd be safe.

_Well, screw that Idea then!_Farid thought to him self, feeling more helpless than ever.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. And it came. Although he was prepared for it, a gasp still escaped his lips. Basta struck again, making Farid wince.

"This isn't your style Basta"The boy sneered, trying to distract him self early.

"And CRACK what CRACK exactly CRACK is CRACK my CRACK style CRACK little CRACK arab?"

"Cutting up peoples faces with that damned knife of yours"He panted.

He could feel his warm blood trickle down his back.

"Ahh yes... but you see he deserved it"

"And do I deserve this?"

He didn't answer.

"Do I?!"He yelled. "Or are you just jealous of Dustfinger again?"

He didn't whip Farid again, which is what he had expected him to do. Instead, he walked towards Farid.

"He doesn't care about you"He whispered in his ear.

_Oh great. Verbal torture now!_Farid thought exasperatedly, though he didn't dare say it aloud.

"He does"

"Then why hasn't he found you?"

"It's only been a day, give him a chance!"

"But if your so important to him, he probably would have started searching last night"

"How do you know he hasn't?"

"It isn't likely"

"You don't know that! You don't even know Dustfinger!"

He was falling in to the trap. The trap of doubt. He was being dragged into it and there was nothing he could to save himself.

"I know him more than you do, believe me"

Basta began to walk around the boy, whilst he struggled to stand. The pain in his back were causing his legs tremble.

"You just follow him around, he never wanted you and he never will"

Farid gritted his teeth and tried to ignore Basta's voice biting into him.

"You love him. He makes you feel safe, he makes you feel as if you matter. But it's just a game. He doesn't care about you and he never will"

"You don't know that! He does care about me!"

He laughed. "No matter how many times you say it, it won't make it true"

Cracked the whip on to the boy's already bleeding back. _Oh please just stop!_Farid begged silently. The whip lashed him again, and this time, his legs completely gave way.

He tried to stand, but his body shook so terribly, that after the first attempt he gave up. Basta dropped the whip and walked over to Farid, lifting by his bound hands.

"I think that's enough for today"He said, softly.

He threw him into a corner, making Farid yell.

"Night, night, my little arab"And, he strolled back into the forest, as if he owned the world.

Tears welled up in Farid's eyes, and he curled up into a ball, and began to sob into his knees. There was no escape, not a single chance of it. All he could cling on to now was a tiny ray of hope. But he didn't know what Basta would have in store for him next.

_Oh Dustfinger, please come. Don't let him hurt me any more._

_A/N Well, I hope you enjoyed my seccond chapter! Thanks for a ll the reviews! Glad to know you like it._


	3. Poison

Basta (of course) was wrong. As soon as Dustfinger had woken up, he had begun to search for Farid.

He called his name so many times his throat grew a bit sore. But he knew he was taken.

Farid loved him too much to leave. And even if he wanted to, his fear of ghosts would stop him going five feet away from him.

After two hours of hopeless searching, Dustfinger returned to the clearing.

Why would any one take him? No one knew he was in this world. Well... at least he thought so.

He leaned on a tree, sighing. He was sure that last night Farid said it was Basta who had taken him.

But it couldn't possibly be him. Could it? He walked over to were Farid had slept.

Dustfinger was so worried about him. He felt as if he understood the term "worried sick".

He sat down on the grass, and buried his face in his hands. Running his hands through his long hair, he stared miserably at the ground beneath him.

He saw something. It was small and green. It would probably be nothing, but Dustfinger picked it up any way.

It was a leaf. A mint leaf.

His brown eyes widened enormously as he stared at the leaf, as if it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in his life. "Oh my god, it really is Basta..."Dustfinger whispered "He's got him... but I'll bring him back"

Farid was awake. But he was pretending not to be.

His eyes were shut, and he was still curled in a ball. He was scared. Scared out of his mind.

He pretended he was still with Dustfinger, still happy, still safe.

Basta's terrible words still rang in his head. _"You love him, but he doesn't care about you and he never will"_

He felt sick, his throat was dry from lack of water and crying so much.

His stomach was screaming for food. Farid was lonely as well. He felt as if it was pressing agaisnt his body.

It was all he could do to stop himself bursting into tears.

_"No matter how many times you say it, it won't make it true"_ He fought back a sob.

_Come on Farid, get a grip! _He told him self, trying to steady his breathing. _You have to try __**something **__to escape!_

Slowly, trying to cause as little pain in his back as he could,he pulled him self into a sitting position.

Farid dragged him self, using his bound ankles, to a sharpish looking rock.

He began to saw at his bounds, desperate for escape.

But no matter how hard he tried to free his bounds, they would not come loose.

He growled in frustration. _Damn Basta! Damn him and his tough rope!_

The boy put his hands between his feet and tried to pull it off. The result was exactly the same.

"This is not fair!"He yelled to no one in particular.

"No... it isn't really... but that makes it more fun"

He sighed. Basta.

"Well, for me anyway"

Basta crouched down in front of him, as if he was a small.

"Hmmm... you must be thirsty"

He brought out a green bottle from behind his back.

"And hungry"He also revealed chicken drumstick.

Farid stared at him coldly. "It's poisoned"

He shook his head. "Just water"He poured out some onto the ground. It was completely clear.

"You drink some then"

He expected him to object, but he smiled and said "Of course"

Basta poured the liquid in to his mouth, with out touching the rim.

"Convinced?"

He nodded. Basta knelt down and pulled Farid onto his legs so he was lying on his back.

He then put the bottle to his mouth, as if he were a child.

Although he felt embarrassed being given a drink this way, but if this was the only way to get a drink, he would take it.

Anyway, it wasn't as if he had a choice;it was either humiliation or death.

When the flask was empty, he fed him the chicken until there was nothing left but the bone.

He put him on the ground and walked off, with out another word.

_Why does he always leave so suddenly? _Farid asked himself, struggling on to his knees.

He looked after him wondering: _What is his next move going to be?_

Farid woke in the dead of night. He looked around him wildly, forgetting were he was.

His breathing was steadied as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He gasped as stab of pain shot into his stomach.

The pain grew steadily worse, making the boy curl into a ball.

Then, another dagger of pain was thrown into his back, making him yell and uncurl from his ball.

It felt as if every part of his body was being set on fire one at a time.

He lay on his back and screamed. Screamed into the black night.

He tore grass from the ground, tossed and turned, while screaming all the time.

He didn't know how long it lasted, but, at last, it stopped.

Farid lay on the ground, gasping for air. Tears streamed down his flushed cheeks.

His whole body was aching and shaking. He couldn't move. He didn't dare to move.

He lay trying not to give in to sobbing his heart out. It would hurt.

Moving would hurt, blinking too much would hurt, thinking would hurt.

Ever since he had been taken away from Dustfinger, every thing hurt.


	4. Detective Dustfinger

Dustfinger sat down, his mind in a whirl of anger. "Calm down Dustfinger, calm down"He told himself, stroking Gwin's fur.

"Running off in a rage won't help you, you have to remember who you're dealing with"

_How dare he! How dare that... creature take away my Farid! As if I wouldn't notice! As if I didn't care!_

He didn't think he had hated any thing as much as he hated him.

Dustfinger knew that Basta had done this to get at him, but there were two other possibilities.

Basta was jealous (unlikely), or... he had actually **wanted**Farid... for personal gain.

And that thought made him more worried than ever.

But what would he do to him? _Oh my poor Farid!_He thought to himself hopelessly. _What is that demon doing to my little fire eater?_

He didn't need to ask. He already knew what the answer was. Basta would torment him in every way that he could think of.

He would whisper so many horrible words in his ear, so many terrible things would run in his mind.

Dustfinger had to think about were he would take Farid. He sat there, thinking long and hard, whilest Gwin stared at him.

Were would Basta take Farid in this world? If he was in his own world, he would know exactly were he would take him:

Capricorns fortress. He was practicly in love with that place!

It took him about 10 minutes for the blast of the idea to hit him.

"THE CASTLE!!"He yelled, jumping up as if he had been electricuted. Gwin squawked in surprise.

"Gwin! The castle ruins! That's were he's taken Farid!!"

Gwin just gave him a cold look from startling him, and stalked off, but Dustfinger didn't care.

He was going to find him, he was going to find him and never let go.

_A/N Sorry this wasn't such a good chapter and that it took ages to up date, but I'll give you the new one as soon as possible! I promise_

_And would some one tell me what "A/N" means, thanks!_


	5. Safe

_A/N I jusrt wanted to say thankyou to DragonWinged, SouthParkfan2, __kit9888_, _and_ _Meggy and Haku_ _for all your support! :D And sorry this took so long to get to you. And watch out for extreme violence, swearing, a shiny knife, and only one truly terrible kiss (I swear to god this is not slash)! Oh and by the way this is most deffinately NOT my last chapter._

_Not for the light hearted but the end of the chapter is worth it, believe me!!_

_**"I don't wanna see you crying, so hold on, just hold on to me" - Take That**_

Farid was sleeping, his arms were wrapped around his chest. He shivered in the cold.

He was thank full to get some sleep after last night.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Basta staggered into the clearing, stinking of alcohol. "Were are you? Were are you, you little bugger?!"_

_Farid crouched in the corner of the ruin, arms wrapped around his legs, trembling in fear._

_He may not know how to become invisible, but he did have experience in shrinking into the shadows._

_"Come my little Arab! Come out and play!!"_

_A small whimper escaped his lips. It was enough for the drunken man to hear._

_He stumbled towards the boy, who was pushing himself into the corner as humanly possible._

_And It began. Basta began to kick, every were and anywere he could. Farid curled himslef up into a ball, covering his head with his arms, trying to protect himself the best he could from the shower of kicks being rained on him._

_Then Basta picked him up, and brutally hurled him against the wall. Farid slammed into the wall, gasping for breath. _

_"Say it! SAY IT!!"_

_"Say what?"He whimpered, knowing he would regret it._

_"Say that you love me! Say that you love me and not him! SAY IT!!"_

_He shook his head, biting his lip. Basta crushed Farid further into the wall, making cry out in pain, tears in his eyes._

_"SAY IT!!"_

_Farid, tears streaming down his face, choked. "Please. Please... don't..."_

_He screamed into the boys face. "NOW!!"_

_"I-I love you"He stammered, shaking like a leaf in the wind._

_"LOUDER!!"_

_"I love you"Farid said, his voice, high pitched and broken._

_"Say you hate Dustfinger! SAY IT!" But, incredulously, Farid shook his head. "NOW!" He shook his head again, sobs wracking his frail body. He couldn't. He wouldn't. It would be betraying him, betraying the one person who had ever cared for him, ever comforted him, ever loved him. The boy knew the safest option was to say it, but he wouldn't dare._

_Basta threw him to the floor, making him cry out._

_"Don't you __**dare **__defie me"He snarled, in a low, controlled voice. "Don't you DARE!!" And he kicked him vicously in the faced._

_Farid howled in pain, covering his face from any more blows. _

_"S-s-stop, p-please. J-just stop"He begged him through sobs. "Oh,p-please Basta! Please!!"_

_Basta ignored him, punching and kicked the helpless boy. And finally, he stopped and looked down at Farid._

_He was a sad sight. Red marks were rapidly becoming bruises on his body, he was even bleeding in some areas._

_At least two of his ribs could have been broken. Every ragged breath he managed to take was painful. And as if he was never there, walked away from the sobbing Farid. _

_He couldn't move. His body was screaming in pain, his head filled with terror. Out of all the punishments he had ever recieved from the theives, that was by far the worst out of all of them. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Farid woke gradually. He could never get sleep for as long as he needed. It was his only escape from torture, but he didn't have it for long. He tried so very hard to stay asleep, though he knew inevitably it wasn't going to work.

He groaned, rolling onto his back. "Good morning Farid" Basta said, strolling into the clearing, hiding all signs of a hang over (not that it mattered to him).

Farid nearly jumped out of his skin, the memory of last night shooting back to him.

The man sat down on the grass, cross legged, smilling and watching as he backed away, fear in his eyes.

"Come now Farid! That is no way to greet some one in the morning. Say 'Good morning' back"

"G-good m-m-morning"He stammered, shock in his voice.

His smile broadened, only worrying Farid more. He didn't dare ask what he was so happy about.

"Farid? Have you had an injection yet?"

He frowned, confused. "What are those?"He asked, slowly and hesitantly.

"They're very common in this world,"Basta said and he drew a large needle from behind his back.

He laughed cruelly as Farid backed away again, panic written on his face. "But clearly not in yours"

"W-what is **that**!?"He asked incredulously, his eyes as wide as they could possibly go.

"A seringe. Or a needle. Which ever name pleases you"He was still sat calmly, as if he was waiting for something.

"And... what i-is it f-for..?"

"Well, this type is called in blunt terms, it's for 'knocking people out'"

Basta slowly pulled on the rope that was still tethered to Farids ankle. He was dragged towards him, though he dug his fingers into the dirt, desperately trying to keep away from the **thing** in his hand. He picked up the now wriggling boy and placed him over his legs.

"Now this will sting, but that's only one reason while I'm doing this"

With his free hand, he stroked his bare and bruised back, making him shiver. He placed the tip of the needle on the small of his back and pushed it into his skin. Farid gasped, instantly grabbing Basta's leg. He didn't even push the medication in, just leaving it there his back.

He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, knowing that it was still in his back. Farid tried to reach back and pull it out, but the man grabbed his wrist. "Just a little longer, my small Arab"

"S-stop it B-Basta. Tak-ke it o-out!"Farid said, voice constricted with anger and pain.

Basta rolled his eyes and sighed. After a few tortured minutes, he pushed down the handle of the needle.

He a sudden wave of drowsy nous had begun take over him. "You... you didn't... take it out"

"Did you expect me to take it out?"He laid the needle down, and picked him up so they were face to face.

"Maybe..."His voice was slurred as his body was rapidly going limp. Farid eyelids drooped as the sedative ran through his system. He smiled as the boy's head drooped forward, and he immediately fell into deep, drugged sleep.

Basta stroked his cheek. "Soon my little Arab, soon I will scar you for life..."

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Farid woke in the middle of an icy, harsh winter wind. Millions of cold stars lay above him. He had no idea how long he had been knocked out. He tried to sit up, but his arms and legs were tied to pegs in the ground, stretching his body.

And he soon realised that all he was wearing were his boxers. He blushed but what he was or wasn't wearing were the very least of his problems.

Basta stood at his feet, smiling and holding his horrible, long knife. When Farid saw this, he screamed and began to thrash against his bonds, but, sadly, no avail. Slowly, he walked over to Farid and bent over his chest.

And he pressed his lips agaisnt the young boys. His eyes widened in horror and disgust as he tried to pull away from him.

He grabbed his head and forced his mouth to still be connected to his. Basta's tongue entered his mouth, and he screamed, panicking worse than ever as his horrible taste was suddenly in his mouth. Finally, he pulled away, leaving poor Farid gasping and shaking. Sadly though, It was just the beginning...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dustfinger looked at the map he had stolen, searching angrily for any castle ruins roughly nearby his camp.

_Damn these stupid maps! _He thought crossly to himself. _Why can't they make it simpler instead of everything being so bloody complicated! _He rustled the map angrily. He knew he had to find him now. Or something bad would happen. Very, **very** bad.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Basta was walking slowly around Farid, like a predator stalking its prey. He felt so sick, so scared.

His limbs had been stretched so tightly that he could hardly move. His breathing was ragid and he was in complete and utter shock. He was so horrified by the kiss, he couldn't even speak, which seemed to please Basta.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dustfinger glared at the map as if it had insulted him in someway whilst Gwin was chattering away at something.

"Shut up, Gwin!"He snapped at the marten. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

Offended, he slunk into the shadows, but Dustfinger didn't care. "Oh Farid, were are you!?"He groaned.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Basta crouched down again, near Farid's left leg and put the cold knife against his thigh. He shuddered.

He began to cut Farids skin with small slices of the knife. Farid felt his blood run down his leg as he bit his lip and gasped in pain. He moved lower down his leg, making small cuts all the way down it.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Well, at least I knew were __**I**__ am on this map. _Dustfinger thought to him self._Now all he needed was a castle ruin that Basta would absolutely __**love**__. _Nose practically to the paper, his eyes darted, frantically looking for a castle ruin. And his eyes stopped darting.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

He had moved to his other leg now. He slit the knife into his skin, and slid it down his thigh.

Farid let out a scream of utter pain, louder than he had ever screamed before. The pain was unbearable. He could feel his skin being ripped open and the blood seeping out of it. His fingers gripped the rope tightly, his knuckles white.

"BASTA!!"He screamed, tears streaming down his face. "S-S-STOP BASTA! PLEASE!!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dustfinger ran through the forest, branches wipping his face, thorns stabbing his feet. He didn't care. Nothing would stop him.

The wind made his eyes watery and blurred but he couldn't stop now. Now that he had figured out were that son of a bitch had taken his fire eater.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Basta now looked at him, his prize moment at last. He grinned a grin of pure evil. He slunk slowly towards him, knowing he was going to make his final scar. Perhaps it would kill him, the final slash across his chest.

But before he could even reach his torso, Dustfinger burst into the clearing and leaped on Basta without hesitation.

He yelled in suprise and they tumbled on the grass. They stopped as Basta hit the wall of the ruin, both men panting hard.

Dustfinger pushed him agaisnt harder agaisnt the wall and growled in his face. "You dirty bastard"He could barley control his anger. He was actually shaking in his fury. "How **dare** you take my fire eater away. How dare you!"

Basta couldn't speak, for once, Dustfinger scared him. "I would kill you in one blow, but I will **not** sink to your level"

He rose, pulling Basta up with him. "If you dare take Farid away from me again, you will regret it for the rest of your life, believe me" He pushed Basta away from him, and began to whisper the words.

Flames rose from the grass like water reeds. Basta screamed in terror, and tried to turn away from the fire but failed miserably.

A ring of fire encircled the man, flames roaring up to the sky. His anger flowed through his words into the flame.

He now stood surrounded entirely by fire, shaking in fear.

Dustfinger turned away from this pleasing site and ran to Farid, skidding to his side. Farids large brown eyes met Dustfingers blue ones. In a flash of flame, the bound were nothing more than ashes.

Farid flung his arms around Dustfingers neck and burst into sobs. A sharp stab of pain hit his chest but what did he care? What did it matter to him? He wrapped his arms around the boys body, bringing him as close to his warm chest as possible.

"D-Dustf-finger"He choked into his shoulder. "I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry Dustfinger. If I had-d-d esc-caped, if... I-I...I missed you so much!"But he couldn't go on. Just cried into his shoulder, relief coursing through him. He was safe again. He was with Dustfinger.

All the pain he had been through, all of his suffering had now ended and all because of Dustfinger. He picked up the sobbing boy and stood up, keeping a firm but gentle grip on him.

"We're going now"He whispered softly in his ear. "You don't have to be scared any more, you're safe now, I promise you"

He turned but was stopped by a high pitched voice behind him. "Wait!"

Dustfinger looked back at Basta who was still surrounded by flames. Farid buried his face further into his shoulder and whimpered, trying to hide from the man who had caused him so much pain. He shushed and stroked him gently, trying to soothe him.

"Let me out! Please!"His black eyes were wide, as he trembled in fear. He grinned, silently rejoicing in seeing Basta so scared.

"I don't think so"

"But how can I get out of here!?"

He looked up to the cloudless sky. "Wait"

"Wait! For what!?"

"Rain"He flashed his white teeth at him one last time, and walked away.

"No, wait! Wait!"But Dustfinger merely ignored him. He walked into the dense forest were Farids wails seem to echo off the trees.

It almost hurt him to hear his broken cries. He walked with him, whispering and shushing him softly, trying all he could to calm him. His shivering and sobbing was utterly uncontrolable. Farid didn't even bother trying to stop.

When they reached the camp, Dustfinger still held him tight. Gwin leaped onto his shoulders, looking at Farid with confusion in his eyes, as if the marten didn't understand the concept of crying. He reached out and with a shaky hand he stroked the Gwin's dark fur. "I think he missed you"He said, smiling at this. He sat down near a tree and leaned against it. Gwin crawled over Farid, onto the grass and scampered away.

"D-Dustfinger"He manged to stutter. "M-my legs"

He looked down and saw how much blood he was loosing. "Wait here"He tried to put him down, but Farid held on tighter than ever. "NO!"He yelled, his voice high. "No, don't leave Dustfinger! Please!"

"I'm just going to get my rucksack"

"But he may come back!"

He couldn't help but smile at Farid. "That man is surrounded by fire, his very worst fear. I don't think he'll be going any were soon"

He placed Farid gently on the ground, and got his bag. Dustfinger knelt down and retrieved his water skin, pouring it onto a torn piece of cloth.

"Farid, this is going to hurt but we can't let this get infected, alright?"He nodded, trying hard to stop crying.

He gingerly touched the slash in his leg. Farid cried out in pain. "I'm sorry Farid, I truly am"

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "It's not your f-fault"He whimpered. The fire eater grabbed his hand and held it tight, as he slowly cleaned the terrible wound. The boy squeezed his hand as tight as he could, gritting his teeth.

Finally, Dustfinger laid the damp blood stained cloth on the grass and began to wrap dry bandages around his leg.

"He... he did it to my other leg too"

He stoked his hair. "Oh my poor Farid!"He said, voice full to the brim of sympathy. "Believe it or not I know exactly how you feel"

He smiled and pointed to the three scars on his face.

"I-it must h-have been w-worse f-for you though because, it-t was on y-your face"Farid stammered, turning over to show his other leg. "I-I think he was going to d-do s-something else though"

"What makes you say that?"Dustfinger asked, dabbing the cuts with the sodden rag.

"Because, before... this he... he..."

He stopped and looked at Farid, who was looking down at the grass, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What did he do Farid?"

The boy buried his face in his hands and said in a muffled voice. "He kissed me"

Dustfingers eyes widened alarmingly. "He did what!?"

"He kissed me! I don't even know why, but he did!"Farid shivered. "It was so...horrible. I can't find the right word to describe it"

"Farid I am **so** sorry. Oh I wish I had reached you sooner!"

Farid shook his head. "No, no i-it's my fault. I-I should have escaped"

He tipped his chin up and looked at his kindly. "I can not let you blame your self for this, Farid"

"But it wasn't your fault either. It was... his fault"

He smiled sadly. He could still see the awful fear in his eyes. "Is anything broken"

"I think he could have broken my ribs"

"Let me have a look"Dustfinger ran his fingers over his chest carefully, feeling his rib cage. "I will kill that man one day"He muttered darkly. "One or two is broken and some may be cracked"

"Are going to have to bandage me up?"

"Yes, unfortunately"Farid lifted his arms and he began to wind the long roll of bandages around his chest.

"Don't tie it too tight I do want to breathe"Fresh tears were no longer running down his cheeks.

"How are you feeling?"He asked, tying of the bandage that now covered his chest.

He looked at his hands. "Sad... and happy... and relieved... and scared"

"I can't blame you"

They sat in silence for a while whilst Dustfinger cleaned his shivered, rubbing his bare arms.

"You must be freezing, you're not exactly wearing much"

Farid looked down and blushed rapidly."But I don't have anything else to wear"

"I think I might have some thing for you to wear"He reached inside his bag and brought out his old clothes from his world.

"I haven't worn these in ten years"

"Do you mind me wearing them?"

"Of course not"He helped Farid into the threadbare robe. It was about two sizes to big for him, but it didn't matter.

He wrapped the black cloak around his shoulders and lifted him onto his legs. It felt wonder full to be so safe in his Dustfingers arms. Back in his world, no one had ever been there to comfort him. The thieves had no pity for him and he had had no friends.

It was so foriegn to him, yet he liked it all the same.

"You should get some sleep"

He wrapped his arms around his chest. "I'm... Im scared to"

Dustfinger frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because... I'm scared this is just a dream. I don't want to be alone again with out you"

"Let me assure you Farid that I am not a figment of your imagination" Farid still shivered, despite Dustfingers warmth and his clothes.

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"I promise you. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep"

He closed his eyes and rested his head his shoulder and finally smiled. "Dustfinger?"

"Yes?"

"I love you"

He looked up. "Is that alright?"

He chuckled softly. "That's perfectly fine, Farid"

"Do you love me too?"

"I love you too"

"Promise?"

Dustfinger kissed him gently on his black, curly head. "I promise"


	6. Rain

_Hello! Oh my gosh, I cannot believe how long it took me to get this to you! I am so sorry! It won't happen again, I promise!_

_Two nights later..._

It was deep in the night and Dustfinger lay asleep. Yet Farid was wide awake. He was sat against the tree, wrapped in blankets.

His whole body was shivering with cold and it was all he could to stop his teeth chattering so as not to wake Dustfinger.

He felt as if his heart was pumping ice around his body, not blood. Ever since the 'incident' he had gotton a very feirce cold, but this was the worst it had ever been.

_He wouldn't be mad at me. _Farid thought to him self. _Not if I woke him for a good reason. But is being cold a good reason for waking him up? He needs his sleep. But then again so do I. What can he do about me being cold? Should I wake him up? _

He had been like this for a while now, silently debating with him self whether he should wake Dustfinger. He hated to annoy him.

_Dustfinger wouldn't be angry at me for waking me up. And even if he is, he's not exactly going to do anything. _

Slowly, limbs feeling stiff, he crawled slowly over to the sleeping figure. He knelt near Dustfinger and looked at his scarred, peaceful face. His hands shaking, he shook Dustfinger gently.

"D-D-Dustfinger?"Farid whispered. "D-Dustf-finger, w-wake up"

He moaned and rolled over. His eye lids fluttered as he looked up at him. "Farid"He groaned. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry"He stammered, looking reproachfully at Dustfinger as if he had snapped at him. "I-I c-c-can't sleep"

Dustfinger sat up, blinking rapidly and looking him. "What's up, my little fire eater? Are you hearing hearing those pesky, non-existant ghosts again?"

He smiled weakly. He looked Farid up and down and frowned. "Farid, are you alright? You're shaking!"

"I am so c-cold"Farid whimpered, pulling the blankets around him tighter. "Just s-s-so cold"

He wrapped his arms around Farid and gently brought him to his chest. He felt alot warmer than usual. Even his hair felt damp with sweat. He hadn't dared to cut ever since Basta had scarred him. He had been exactly the same, when Basta had attacked him, but he hadn't been through half as much. Dustfinger frowned and pressed his hand against his forehead. "Oh Farid"He muttered.

"W-what's-s wr-rong?"He asked.

"Farid you have a fever"

"What d-do y-you m-m-mean 'I h-have a fever'?"

"It means you're temperature is on fire"

"W-well you w-would kn-now"

He smiled and rose. Fire began to dance in his hand as he looked around for something. Farid saw Gwin's large eyes light in the light of the fire. "Gwin"He called, clicking his tounge as he usually did, rubbing his finger and his thumb together. Gwin considered him for a moment, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Dustfinger sat down against the tree and poured some water onto a cloth. "Put your head on my lap Farid"

"Why?"

"I'm going to try and cool you down"

"B-but I'm f-freezing!"

He smiled kindly at him. "When you get a fever you feel cold, but really your boiling"

Farid lay down on the grass and laid his head on his lap. "How d-d-do you kn-now so much ab-bout this?"

He put the wet fabric agaisnt his forehead and he immediately flinched away. "S-sorry, its-s cold"

"It's meant to be"Dustfinger brushed away his hair and laid it on his head. "And how do I know about fevers? Were I come from, I had a friend who was a physician and he knew alot about illnesses and pulling peoples teeth out"

"He used-d to p-pull peoples-s teeth o-out?"Farid said, his voice filled with disgust. "That's t-terrible! I hope he d-didn't t-teach you ab-bout that!"

He laughed. "Thankfully not"

"W-was h-he C-c-cloud-d Danc-cer?"

"No, Cloud Dancer was a tight rope walker. He was absolutely brilliant at it. He could walk on a rope a hundred feet up"He looked wistfully into the sky, as if hoping for him to suddenly fall out of the sky.

"I-I'm s-sorry. Y-you d-don't have t-to t-talk ab-bout it-t"

"It's ok. You don't have to be sorry for everything Farid"

The boy smiled up at him. "S-sorry f-for being s-sorry, Dustfinger"

"You should try and get some sleep"

"Aren't y-you g-going to sleep?"

"You need it more than I do"

"But s-still y-you sh-should sleep"

"I'm not the one who's ill am I?"

He didn't answer, but stared above him at all the stars. Were they any different to the ones in his world? The didn't look much different but, he knew they were.

"D-do you know t-their n-names?"

He looked to the sky. "No... but we can name them if you like"

"W-we c-can do that-t?"

Dustfinger grinned. "Of course we can. No ones going to stop us"

Farid smiled and he pointed to a large white one, different from the others.

"You can't name that one"

"Why?"

"It's the north star, it already has a name"

"I th-hought you d-didn't know the n-n-names?"

"I know a few, but none of the constellations in this world"

With a shaky finger, he drew a picture with his finger. "If-f y-y-you l-look c-carefully, it's a f-flame"

He cocked his head. "I can't see it"

"Look"He pushed the cloth away, took Dustfinger's wet hand and drew the flame, holding his hand tight. "C-can y-you s-s-see it n-now?"

"I can now"

Dustfinger picked up the cloth, but Farid pulled it out of his hand. "I'm still c-cold. And I c-can't s-sleep with a w-wet r-rag against m-my h-head"

"Fair point"He gathered Farid up and placed him on his lap. He curled up as close as he could to Dustfinger, his whole body trembling. Dustfinger could feel him shake in his arms.

"I-I'm s-so c-c-cold Dustfinger"He whimpered.

"Shhhhh"He whispered softly, rocking his body slightly backwards and forwards."Shhh. Go to sleep Farid, go to sleep"

He laid his head on his chest and closed his eyes, whilst Dustfinger rocked him slowly to sleep.

"I love you, my little fire eater"

"I l-love y-you t-t-too, Dustfinger"

Dustfinger shut his eyes, and soon both of them were asleep.

_Farid opened his eyes. Everything was dark. The wonderful stars that he was gazing at a moment ago,safe in dustfingers arms, were gone and were now replaced with dark, threatening clouds. He looked around him. He was in a clearing and Dustfinger was nowhere to be seen. The trees that surrounded him were grey and dead, their branches protruding like a bone in a broken arm. He could hear the ghosts whispering to him, feeling their presence beneath his bare feet. But they were not the source of his fear. Some greater evil, a larger predator, an unseen danger that he knew was watching him constantly._

_He tried to call out for Dustfinger's name, but it was almost as if the right to say that name had been stolen from his lips. In the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow move between the trees of desceased wood. Beads of sweat ran down the side of his face as his eyes darted rapidly to look for something that had moved. Slowly, like a tiger moving slowly towards it's prey, Basta emerged from the trees. The horror of his situation hit Farid and he froze in terror, staring at his tormentor, unable to move. As he got closer to him, a scream tore from the young arabs throat. He tried desperatly to back away from the man. A smile was carved across his face, a smile of pure enjoyment and cruelty. Basta reached behind his back and drew out his long, silver knife. _

_"Dustfinger!"Farid screamed desperatly, tears beggining to stream down his face. "Dustfinger! Help me, please!"_

_Basta's cruel laugh began to reverberate around the clearing, around Farid's head, bouncing off the trees, the echoes ringing in Farid's ears. He crouched down, and Farid began to sob, trying in vain to back away, but rope tied his hands together. He fought against his bounds, screaming Dustfinger's name again and again. _

_"He's not coming for you"Basta said over Farids hysterical screams, as he hopelessly tried to free himself. "He's left you, he doesn't need you any more"_

_"You're lying!"He sobbed. "You're lying!! Dustfinger, please!"_

"Farid!"

_"Your worthless"Basta said. "You don't deserve anyone!" Farid fought harder against his bounds, though it was hopeless. The ropes were holding him too tight. He held up the knife, ready to strike._

"Farid, wake up!"

He woke up, breathless and sobbing. He could feel some ones arms holding him tight and he punched and kicked and wrestled against the person who was holding him. They wouldn't let go of him. They just held onto him tighter.

"Shhh, Farid it's OK, It's me, it's Dustfinger. Your safe, it's alright"

Farid stopped fighting against him and collapsed, exhausted in his arms. He buried his face in his shoulder, clinging onto Dustfinger as if he were a life raft. He closed his eyes as if in pain and rocked the fire eater back and forth. Every time he heard Farid scream, every time he begged an imaginary Basta to stop torturing, every time he saw a tear on his cheek, it tore his heart in half. He hated having to wake up in the middle night to find his fire eater in such distress, to have to go to sleep, knowing that Farid would be trapped in some horrible world were he was completly helpless.

Something cold landed on his nose. He frowned and looked up. Another drop fell on his forehead. "Oh no!" Suddenly, the heavens opened wide and rain crashed down on them. They were soaked to the skin in two seconds flat. Dustfinger knew what this meant. If the one thing stopping Basta from getting to Farid was fire, than the rain was the key to the lock. Dustfinger stood up, still holding Farid. Gripping Farids waist with one arm, he rushed around their camp site, picking up things and stuffing them into his rucksack. The young boy clung onto Dustfinger, his feverish mind trying to comprehend what was happening. He felt confused, he was wet, he was cold, and Dustfinger was no longer rocking him. Tears were continuing to stream down his face and he cried even harder, tangled in his turmoil. He had no understanding of his surroundings whatsoever. He called out Dustfingers name, but he couldn't be heard over the tumultuous sound of rain.

He buiried his head into Dustfinger's neck, hung on to him and prayed silently that all this frightening comotion would soon end. It was all he could do, but its still didn't ease his fear.

He rushed out of the clearing, swinging his bag onto his free shoulder. A soggy Gwin ran to his master and crawled into the bag. Dustinger rushed through the forrest, trying to find some sort of shelter. The cold rain ran down Farid's neck and he shivered worse than ever. Dustfinger's 'other-worldly' clothes stuck to his skin like liquid latex. His hair was drenched and was flattened to his skull. He was no longer crying, the nightmare was long forgotten, as if the memory of it had been washed away clean by the water. The older man tried desperately to look for shelter, anything to get his fire eater out of this waterfall from the skies.

"Dustfinger!"He shouted of the hail, teeth chattering. "Dustfinger! Take me to Meggie's!"

"What!"Dustfinger yelled.

"Meggie's!"

"This isn't the time to be thinking about your dearly beloved, Farid!"

"Take me to her house!"He bellowed at Dustfinger angrily.

"We're not going to Silvertounge's!"

"What choice do we have!?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Basta lay on the parched grass. His eyes were closed an arm over his closed eyelids protecting them from the heat and light of the fire. He was starving, his throat was dry, as if he had swallowed sand. He wasn't asleep, the fire had robbed him of that pleasure. Death was near, he knew it. He could almost hear it walking towards him. Damn those fire eater. Those heathens from hell that put him in his firey cage. Something wet landed on his hand. He reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at his hand. It looked like water. He shook his head. He must be hallucinating. Before he could even blink, he was practically drowned in water. He spluttered and watched in delight as the ring of fire, hissed and crackled down to a mere circle of cinders.

Basta gawped. He was free. FREE! He got up, sudden energy and adrenilon pulsing through his body. He flung out his arms and laughed, rain filling his mouth. Never in his life had he been more thankfull for the existence of water.

"I'll find you!"He yelled into the black, night. "I'll find you Farid. And when I do, you're mine!!"

* * *

_Sorry, I'm leaving it on such a cliff hanger. I will try my best to get the ne_x_t chapter up as soon as possible. I won't take as long as I did last time, I swear!_

* * *


	7. Back Pains and Bathwater

_A/N What is wrong with me I take so long writing these chapters!! This must be driving you guys mad!!! I really am sorry, this is unintentional. But, wow... Thank you SO much for all of your reviews! You've been really supportive,despite how long it takes me to write chapters. Thankyou!!_

Dustfinger paused to catch his breath. His arms were aching, his head pounding with pain from the icy water cascading on his head. He was numb with cold, but selflessly all he thought about was Farid. They needed to get some where out of this rain and by just taking a breath, he was delaying him the attention he so desperately needed. Guilt flooded into his heart as looked down at Farid, shivering with fever and cold. Farid managed to look at Dustfinger with those large brown eyes of his.

"A-are you o-k-k?"He whispered,as if exhaustion had dragged his voice down to an almost silent undertone. Dustfingers concerned face revolved around him. He blinked hard. The dizzyness made him feel sick.

"Are you mad!?"He gasped, staring at the boy incredibly "I should be asking you that question!"

"D-don't worr-ry. I-I'm f-fine"He said, lying through his chattering teeth. Dustfinger snorted, but said nothing more. Ignoring the stitch stabbing into his side, he broke into another painfull run.

Dustfinger didn't know how long he ran after that. The night seemed endless, as did the rain. Lightning lit up his path, though he nearly walked into trees many times and the thunder roared in his ears. The three main things he was worried about was if Farid got worse, if Basta found them and if he would collapse from exhaustion. Farid's silence scared him, but he didn't ask him to talk. He couldn't waste his precious energy on words. His eyes were shut and his skin was so pale he looked almost dead. He compulsively kept listening to his heart to see if it was still beating. He couldn't loose Farid. Not again.

**XXXX**

Meggie was curled up on one Elinor's comfortable chairs, her head buried in a book and listening to the pounding of the rain against window. It was around midnight. Her favorite time for reading. The light coming from the lamp was dim, but she didn't mind. She traced her fingers on a page of the old book. It was beautiful. The illustrations entwined themselves over the page, consuming it with colour. Suddenly, a loud banging came from the door. Her head snapped up as she stared at the door with wonder and caution. Who would be knocking on her door at this time of night?

"Meggie! It's Dustfinger! You have to let me in!"

Even more confused, she laid the book down on the table and got up from her chair. "What do you want?"

"Meggie, it's Farid! He's got a fever! Please!"Dustfinger sounded desperate.

At this she ran to the door and undid the locks holding it. She opened the door and in a flash of lightning saw a sacrred face. But the shadows and sudden light, he looked more like a muderer in one of her books. Meggie screamed and turned to run, but tripped over the hem of her dressing gown. Mo sat up in bed at the sound of his daughter's scream. He got out of bed and ran down the stairs to see a soaked Dustfinger and a terrified Meggie.

"What are you doing here!?"He yelled at Dustfinger, confused and angry.

Meggie turned and saw who it really was. Blushing, she scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry - the lightning - it just - I over reacted"

"Really!?"Dustfinger said sarcastically. Resa walked down stairs and saw Dustfinger. _"What's going on here!?" _She asked with her fingers.

"Resa I-"He was about to explain when a loud, booming voice cut him short.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?"

Dustfinger groaned and managed to cover his face with one of his hands. She marched down the stairs to join the rest of them then she saw Dustfinger. She had disliked him enough from his previous visit, but now that he had woken her up in the middle of the night, she was prepared to hit him round the head with the biggest dictionary she could find. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

"I was just going to explain that when you came"

She frowned at him and was about to open her mouth but Dustfinger quickly intervened. "We're in danger and-"

"So why should we help you!?"Scoffed Elinor. "And what you mean 'we'?"

Dustfinger glared at her. "Are you blind!? What do you think I'm carrying!?"

She looked at what was in his arms and stared. Farid's skin was chalk white and he was visably shaking. He had passed out before he could even reach the door. He now turned to Resa. "He has a fever and... and I don't know what to do"His last words were filled fear. "I don't care about me but you have to get him better. Please"Resa stepped forward and placed a delicate hand on his forehead. She turned to Meggie and said something that Dustfinger couldn't make out and then she ran off to the kitchen. "Come on" She led him past Mo and Elinor and up the stairs.

Dustfinger followed Meggie down a corridor and then another until they finally reached a room. She opened the door and in the room there was a double poster bed. He carefully laid Farid down on the bed. He stared at him. He looked so thin. Tears filled his eyes and he sat down on the bed next to him. The exhaustion of that night finally caught up with him and buried his face in his hands, no longer possessing strength to lift his head. He began to sob.

Meggie looked at Farid. He was so pale. Even in the dim light, she could the shivers running through his body. She stroked his heated face and then looked at the distraught Dustfinger. His shoulders were heaving, as if he were retching. He looked and saw that she was watching him and they both looked away in embarrassment. He bunched his sodden sleave and wiped the tears of his face, though it didn't make his cheeks any dryer. He sniffed and looked at Farid. He choked back a sob as he looked at his face in the light.

Resa walked into room, making them both jump. She was holding a damp cloth and glass of water in her small hands. She said something to Meggie and then she translated into hearable words. "She says you need to wake him up" He looked at Resa, confusion overwhelming in his tear filled eyes. "Why? He-he's exhausted!" She stroked his face gently and spoke to her daughter. "She says she knows, but she needs him to drink some water and see how bad the fever is affecting him" He glanced at Resa. Before, with rain crashing down on him and the adrenaline pulsing through him he couldn't really focus on his fear for Farid. It was more like some one was poking him in the ribs and he was scared. Now, it was more like someone was stabbing him in his chest and he was terrified. Trusting Resa knew what she was doing, he sat down next to Farid and gently shook his shoulders.

"Hey, Farid. Come on wake up"At first he didn't respond, making his jaw clench. He shook him a little harder and Farid groaned and murmured "Too tired. Don't wanna get up" Dustfinger smiled out of relief and how sweet Farid sounded. "I know Farid but you need to. We just need to check you're ok" Reluctantly, he slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at that familliar, scarred face that belonged to Dustfinger. "Dustfinger"He asked in a hoarse voice. "Where are we?" He looked around him. His vision was blurry and the face in font of him was swimming before his eyes. "We're at Silvertounge's house" He put his hands under his armpits and gently lifted him up into a sitting position. Resa put the cold cloth to his hot forehead. "She asks if you feel dizzy or if you see any spinning?"Meggie translated. Farid frowned at her. "M-Meggie? W-what are you doing here?" She smiled. "I live here" Farid stared at her as if he didn't know what a girl was. "Farid"Dustfinger squeezed his shoulder. "Are you feeling dizzy?" "Y-yeah, and it's like m-my body can't d-decide whether I'm hot or c-cold and my h-head hurts a-and I-I'm aching all over" He had never felt so ill. His head was still spinning as if he was twirling around on the spot. The fire eater stroked his hair comfortingly, which was still soaked by the rain.

_"That was probably from the rain"_Resa said, more to herself then anyone else. "She says that he's needs to take a bath as he's been out in the rain for so long, then he needs to stay in bed and drink lots of fluids,"She said watching her mother's hands intently. "Then we're going to call the doctor in the morning" "Doctor?"Dustfinger asked, frowning. "It's kind of like a physician" Farid turned to Dustfinger, a look of horror on his face. "D-Dustfinger!? Y-you're n-not going to l-let them p-pull out my t-t-teeth, are you!?"He looked at his dark, wide eyes. He smiled, shaking his head. "Oh Farid! Of course I would never let them do something like that to you!" Meggie looked at her mother in confusion, but Resa just shook her had and said _"Never mind, Meggie"_ She stood up and Meggie got up too. "She says to tell her if it gets worse and the bathroom is four doors down the hall" They left the room, leaving the two fire eaters alone.

"Dustfinger, w-when s-she said b-b-bath, did she m-mean a bath t-that you s-swim in?" Dustfinger frowned in confusion, and then remembered which story he came from. "No, it's... it's a different kind of bath..." He never realised how hard it was explaining the concept of a bath to someone... not like he'd ever had to before. "You'll understand when you're in it, come on" He was about to lift him in his arms but Farid stopped him. "No I-I'm fine, seriously" He slowly climbed off the large bed, and braced himself to stand. When the young fire eater stood on his feet, dizzyness instantly got the better of him and he immediatly began to sway violently. In a flash Dustfinger by Farids and managed to catch him before he toppled over. "You don't seem very fine to me"He said, concern hidden beneath the sarcasam. "Come on let me carry you" "No, you've carried me every where, I need to walk"Farid said in a whining tone. "I'll let you walk when you can walk" And before Farid could protest any further, Dustfinger had swept him up in his arms. "I don't want you to carry me!"Farid said, but he knew he hadn't the strength to put up a proper fight. "Well tough, I'm going to carry you wether you like it or not. And anyway it's just down the corridoor, it's not like I'm walking a mile, is it?" "No, but-" "But, nothing" With his free hand, he put a finger on his lips. "Hush" He said sternly. That seemed to work. With difficulty, he managed to open the door without relinquishing his hold on Farid.

He carried the young arab down the corridoor, squinting in the darkness as he went. He opened the fourth door on the corridoor, and looked for the light switch. In the dim light of the corridor and the bedroom had hidden the dirt he trailed in from his eyes. Now, he saw the dark brown mud spread on the white tiles. "Oh dear..."He said to himself quietly, looking around at the filth around him. "Oh, well. A bit of dirt never did anyone any harm" Farid looked down, trying to ignore the fact that it made his head spin. Swallowing, he said "A little?" "Well... it won't hurt anyone will it?" Carefully, as if he would shatter into tiny pieces if he dropped him, he put him on the soft bath mat on the floor.

When he stood up again, he looked even smaller then he did in his arms. It seemed like he had shrunk in the last couple of days, not to mention he had lost an enormous amount of weight. The boy had always been fairly skinny, but his weight almost seemed to scare him. Ever since his kidnapping, Farid had lost his appetite. And Dustfinger was worried about it. He knew he hadn't been told about everything that happened in those tourturous days, and he didn't expect Farid to open up immediately. But he knew at one point, he was going to have to talk about it. And it wasn't going to be an easy discussion.

Putting the plug in the hole, he turned on the taps. Clean water gushed out of them. Farid winced as the loud noise of running water rung in his ears. He picked up one of the bottles and tipped half of the contents into the running water. It was conditioner, but it didn't matter. It still made bubbles. Dustfinger clambered down to sit next to Farid. They sat in comfortable silence between them, the sound of water compensating for the lack of conversation. Farid drew up his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, as if to protect himself from some hidden danger.

He glanced at him, noticing the position. What had Basta done to him? He used to be so full of life, bounding him after him like a calf who had just found the use of his legs. Now, he was a scared boy, nightmare ridden and scarred. If only this could of happened to him instead. He should never have been put through a fifth of the horrors that he had been. He should be able to sleep at night without having the lingering fear of Basta and his knife haunting him. Dustfinger sighed.

Farid leaned his head on his damp shoulder. Before all this had happened, he probably would have shook him off and given him a funny look. But now, he would never dream of shunning him away like that. He put his arm around his thin shoulders, pulling him closer into his embrace. With his spare arm, he reached into the rim of the bath, testing the heat of the water. He pulled back instantly, swearing quietly underneath his breath. Reaching for the tap he managed (with difficulty) to turn it off.

Farid stared emptily into space, feeling Dstfinger's warmth and presence. That made matters a little better. He blocked every thing else out of his mind. His head was pounding, his body was aching, he was cold, he was wet, and he was tired. He would like nothing more that to go to sleep, but Dustfinger said he needed a bath, and he hadn't the energy to argue. He hadn't the energy to do much. The nightmares and the fact that he was ill made an enormous lack of sleep.

It seemed that he was constantly tired, and there were dark rings under his dark eyes. He hated the fact that exauhested all the time, he hated how he was scared out of his mind that Basta would be waiting for him around the next corner, and he especially hated how even more reliant he was now on Dustfinger. He sniffed and shifted a little closer towards Dustfinger. "Maybe, when you get better, I could start teaching you how to play with fire again?"Dustfinger said, looking at Farid. "Would you like that?" Farid lifted his head from his shoulder and looked into Dustfingers hazel eyes. "Yes, I would like that. In fact, that would be brilliant" And he smiled a smile that Dustfinger had not seen for days.

He dipped a finger into the water again and got up slowly. He turned off the tap, sighing. He put out a hand to Farid, and he took it, using his strength to get on his unsteady feet. "Right, I'll be outside, so tell me when you're in" Farid frowned. "But... what do I do?" He mirrored the young boys confused face. "But... Haven't you every taken a bath before!?" He blushed, looking down at his feet and avoiding his gaze. "They weren't that available to me in the other world" He swallowed looking guiltily at him. He should have guessed before hand that the thieves he had worked with hadn't given him necessary pleasures such as baths.

"Well..."He said, slowly. The young fire eater sat on the rim of the bath looking up at him. "All you do really is... take off your clothes then get in"Farid stared at him as if he just told him to take off his clothes and take a bath in the rain outside. "That's why I'd be outside and when you're ready I'll come back in again" He was still being stared at as if he was insane. "Don't look at me like that, everyone does it" "What do I do once I'm in?" Farid asked, slowly. "I'm not a very good swimmer" Dustfinger couldn't help but smile at his innocence. "You just sit there" "That's it?" "Well, yes" "So I'm just going to sit in a tub water and do nothing?" He raised an eyebrow at him. "I know it sounds ludicrous, but you'll understand once you get in" "It still sounds crazy to me"He muttered. He rolled is eyes. "Just tell me when you're, alright?"He trudged outside, closing the door behind him.

Farid gulped. Slowly, his limbs aching, he took out the damp and sodden clothes which stuck to his skin. Being Dustfingers old clothes he they were clearly far too big for him and hung of him like soaked drapes. He now stood over the bath, as if he had never seen a bath before. He still couldn't see the attraction of it. He wondered how he should get in. Lifting one leg over the rim of the bath, he put one foot in and gasped. The water was so hot! Farid put his other leg in and slowly lowered himself in, his arms shaking. He leaned back, his whole body trembling with tremors. Now immersed in the steaming water, he realised just how cold he was before.

Cupping the water in his hands, he splashed it onto his frozen face. He lay back, letting the water flood over his chest and shoulders. "Farid? You alright?" He sat up, looking at the door. He had forgotten about Dustfinger. "Yeah, I'm fine. You can come in now" He heard the door open and turned to see Dustfinger come in and shutting it quietly and locking it behind him. "Well? Do you like it?" "It's better than I thought it would be" He smiled. "I'll take that as a yes" "No, it's still a silly idea" "You just don't want to admit I'm right"He rolled up his sleeves and got a jug from the side of the bath. "Close your eyes and hold your breath" Farid frowned. "Why?" "You'll find out in a minute"Giving him a funny look, he held his breath and shut his eyes.

He filled the jug with water and poured on it all on his head, without any warning. He gasped as he felt the water cascade down on him. "Dustfinger!"He spluttered, shocked. "What was that for!?"He wiped the water away from his eyes to see Dustfinger pour a thick, white liquid on to his hand. "Dustfinger, I told you, I don't like washing my hair!" "I know. Thats why I'm doing it for you"Washing his hair was the only order from Dustfinger that Farid refused to do. He had no idea why. It was just one of those strange little traits that every one has. Like Dustfinger hated cars, Farid hated his hair being washed, and with a passion. He tried to move towards him, but Farid moved away. He sighed. "Farid, stop being such a child and let me wash your hair" "I don't need to have my hair washed!"The young arab whined, whilst trying to move away from Dustfinger's hand. "Oh yes you do! It's filthy! You haven't washed it for days!" "I never used to wash it in the other world, so why do I need to wash it in this one?" "First of all, that was different. You were wearing a turban then, so you didn't need to wash your hair. And secondly, different worlds, different rules, and one of them is wash your hair!" Farid glared at him.

"Fine"He said moodily, crossing his arms and pouting. He rolled his eyes. "Oh stop sulking"He said, putting the shampoo onto his flattened and now lengthened hair and he began to rub it in. "I'm not sulking"He said darkly. "But you shouldn't make an ill person do something against their will" "Just because your ill doesn't stop your hair being filthy" "My hair's fine"He growled. Dustfinger managed to suppress a smile. He had a face of thunder. "How's that head of yours?" "Still hurts"He muttered, untensing slightly, trying to ignore the fact he liked the sensation of his hair being washed by someone else.

"Are you still feeling hot and cold?"He said, looking with concern at Farid. "I'm still feeling a bit cold"He said, truthfully. He pressed the back of his soapy hand to his forehead. "Has my fever gone yet?"He asked, looking up at Dustfinger hopefully. He smiled sadly back. "Unfortunately Farid, fevers don't just come and go"He tried not to look too disapointed. "Close your eyes"He said, smiling consolingly at him. He groaned. "Not again!" "Yes again! How do you think I'll get all that stuff out of your hair?" Reluctantly, he closed his eyes and held his breath. Again, the warm water was deposited on his head. He felt Dustfinger's strong, but gentle hand rub his hair as he poured the water on his head for the third time. "Are you done?" The arab asked, rubbing water from his eyes. He saw that the fire eater was putting conditioner his hand.

"Dustfinger, please!" He pleaded with him. "My hair's clean already!" "It's the last time Farid, ok?" He said, stroking the conditioner in to his hair. He sighed, but didn't protest as Dustfinger ran his conditioned fingers through his wet, tangled hair. He winced as some of the nots in his hair came loose. "You need to close your eyes again, Farid" He did so before the water was slowly poured on his head, once again. When Dustfinger was done being a waterfall, Farid now sat in milky, frothy water. He looked up to Dustfinger for guidance. "What now?" "Ahh... right..."He took a white towel of a rack and said "I'll turn around and what you do is you stand up and put this round your waist, alright?" "Ok"He turned his back on Farid.

He got up from the now not so clean water, but he got up too fast. Something in his back either moved or clicked, but what ever it was it hurt. He let out a cry of pain, and fell back into the water with a splash. He spun around to see the young arab fall back into the water. "Farid"Like a shot he was at the bath tub. "Farid, are you ok!?" "Ahhh! My back, I don't know what I've to it - oh god - it really hurts!!" "Ok, shh, Farid, shh, where does it hurt?" "Everywhere"Farid whimpered. "It hurts everywhere, I don't know what I've done to it" "Shhh, Farid, it's ok"He picked up the towel and carefully picked up Farid, wrapping him in the towel as he did so. He gritted his teeth as fire like pain burned his through back. "I don't know what I did"He said softly. Tying the towel round his waist, Dustfinger carefully put him down on a stool.

"Did you hear a click when you got up?" "I - I don't know"He said, sniffing and blinking back the tears in his eyes. "I just got up and, and I don't know what happened" He stroked his wet hair comfortingly. "You've probably just sprained it from getting up too fast, that's all" "You can sprain your back!?" He asked, feeling the pain in his back receding a little. "Yes, don't worry, it'll stop hurting in a little while" "Why do things keep happening to me?"He asked, quietly, looking down at his hands. He looked at the arab sadly. "Honestly, I don't know. But I wish they'd stop" "He smiled a little. "Me too"Dustfinger sighed and for a few seconds there was an awkward silence.

The fire eater picked up a smaller towel and began to dry Farid's bedraggled hair with it. "Ahhh! What are you doing!?"He stopped and looked at Farid, confused. "Drying your hair" "Drying my hair!? More likely trying to put it out!!"He squealed, putting his hands on his head as if trying to protect himself. "It hurts?" "Yes, very much so!"He said, now rubbing his head and looing at Dustfinger hurtfully. "That's the way I dry my hair" "Yes, but your older than me and stronger. It's not as bad for you" He sighed. "If you let me dry your hair, I'll be more more gentle. "Promise?"He said, looking at Dustfinger doubtfully. "I promise" He scrutinized him for a few seconds, then said. "Ok" He began to dry Fraid's hair again. "...It can't hurt that back can it?"He smiled a little. "Well, maybe I was exaggerating a little, but it did hurt!" He stopped after a bit and looked at Farid's hair that was now sticking out in odd places. He wrapped the damp but warm towel around Farids bare shoulders.

"Oh" Farid said, looking down cast. "What?" "I don't have any clothes"He said, blushing. Dustfinger paused, then said "Hold on. I won't be long"He got up and walked out, unlocking and closing the door behind him. He sat there in silence for a few minutes, wrapping the towel around his shoulder. He he was begining to shiver again. He returned with a shirt on his arm. "It was the driest garment I could find in my bag" He said, with a smile. "Another piece of clothing that's too big for me?" "It's my old nightshirt. Can you put your arms up or will it hurt too much"Wincing, he slowly put his arms up. Dustfinger put the night shirt over his head and put the sleeves on his arms. "I might as well be four the with the way you look after me"Farid said, pulling his hair out of the night shirt.

He grinned. "Sorry Farid, am I wrapping you in too much cotton wool?" "What does that mean?" "You've never heard of that expression before?" He shook his head. "It means if I'm wrapping you in cotton wool then I'm being over protective" "Oh. Then yes, you are wrapping me in cotton wool a bit" He stood up pulling the towel from around his waist and letting it drop to the floor. "But if I was over protective of someone I wouldn't wrap them in cotton wool. I'd wrap them in metal or at least give them a sword. That would protect them more" He heard Dustfinger chuckle and he looked at him. "What? It's true!" "Oh, Farid. Sometimes I wonder how I could've managed this world without you" That made him smile. He looked down and let out a snort of laughter. "I'm wearing a dress!"Farid laughed, looking at the nightshirt he was wearing. "It is a little big isn't it"He said, grinning. The shirt went down past Farid's knees and he could just see the tip of his fingers under the sleeves. He looked up at Dustfinger, chortling with laughter.

"Right, come on, bed time" He groaned. "Dustfinger don't say that! That makes me feel like a child even more!" He reached for the plug and pulled it out of the filthy water. "Doesn't stop it being true, though" He turned and walked out of the door, Farid following him. "I bet the others are going to be happy when they see what state we left the bathroom in"He said, looking back at the mess they had made. "Yeah. I bet that Elinor woman will have a fit" He smiled. "Wow, I've been given the privilege of walking"He said, grinning. "Yes, you have and be grateful for it."He said turning around and jabbing a finger at Farid, mock seriousness on his face. "And don't think this doesn't make you ill. You probably won't be doing allot of walking for the next few days" "I bet that's going to be fun"Farid said, put out. "It will. Lot's of bed and fluids for you" "What I've always wanted"He replied, sarcastically.

Dustfinger opened the bedroom door and Farid followed him inside. "Couldn't I stay up a little bit longer?" "No. And anyway what would you do in this old house?"He asked, shutting the door behing them. "I don't know. Look around, explore the house" "You're not going to do that even when while stay here! Now, go to bed!" "But, can't I just-" "No! Bed, now!"He said sternly, pointing to the bed. He wasn't joking any more. Sighing and pouting, he crawled under the cover. "Don't sigh at me. You know as well as I do that your tired" "I'm not tired"Farid said, trying to stifle a yawn. A smile crept onto his face. "You're just yawning allot" Farid nodded, closing his eyes and turning on his side. Dustfinger stroked his arm and sat on a chair near the door. "Hey, Dustfinger?" "Yes?" "You're not going anywhere are you?" He smiled. "No Farid, I'm not going anywhere" "Good" "Goodnight" "Good night....... Hey, Dustfinger?" "He sighed. "Yes Farid?" "You know I love you don't you" "Yes Farid, I know" "Good. Cos I do" Dustfinger smiled. "I love you too, Farid"

**XXXX**

A dark figure stood outside the large house, staring up at the window. He knew that his prize was in there, he didn't know how, but he knew. He licked his lips, hunger and lust alight in his eyes. He waiting so long for this. Too long. And now he would finally get what he needed. And he would never let him go.

_A/N I think my stories are getting darker and darker as I write them. 0.0 I really am sorry for how long this took to write. I will try my ABSOLUTE best to get them in quicker. Thank you again for your reviews. The following chapter will involve ATTEMPTED rape, so If you I'm just warning you which I should have done before. I apologize for that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D Please R&R. 3_


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